Page 39 of The Star's Sword
Truly, even with the frequent decapitations, the exhaustion, and the painful blood donations, whenever I was with him, I felt like the luckiest person in the world.
And I would do anything he asked me, which was why I was training so hard to do the one thing he’d asked even from the start of meeting me.
For me to kill his father.
I never knew much about why Sam hated his ninth realm father until we went to the demon realms and Samael was locked up and had to explain some of his past to me.
How he was raised in captivity, forced to stay in a cage and watch others, including his mother, tortured or killed.
He never went into great detail about what he went through, but whenever the topic of celestials or the ninth realm came up, there was a pale, angry look that flashed across his face every time, followed by an angry flush.
He got into the shower with me and his gentle touch soothed me as we both enjoyed the steamy water and the feel of just being together.
Was this what it was to be truly bonded? To have a mate?
We held each other in the steamy water, letting the world wait outside in the cold a little longer, no problems, just skin to skin, just love and devotion. No fear, just each other.
And then it was time to get out of the shower and get dressed.
Samael and I were sitting by the window discussing yesterday’s training when a loud knock sounded on Sam’s door.
He walked over to open it, but without even knocking Cayne just strode in, looking different than usual in a white tee shirt and jeans. With his red hair back in a casual ponytail, he looked almost human.
Well, except for his long black horns, his red eyes, and his giant height and rippling muscles.
I eyed him confusedly. “So, aren’t we training today?”
He shook his head, leaning against the doorway. “I thought we’d switch it up. I was too hard on you yesterday.”
I blinked, then grinned at Samael. “Am I dreaming, or did Cayne just say he went too hard on me?”
Samael narrowed his eyes at his brother. “What exactly are you planning?”
Cayne shrugged, trying to look casual and failing. “I just thought we should listen to Simon about going to make nice with the vampires. See what we can learn about how Vasara is going about this.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You just want to check on Simon, don’t you?”
Cayne looked away. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You don’t like how close they’re getting,” I said, as Cayne avoided looking anywhere but the window.
“I don’t like my best friend getting close to any celestial, no. They are the real vampires. Sucking out souls for attention and adulation. They care nothing for those who feed them.”
I nodded.
Cayne’s eyes finally found mine, and there was an odd vulnerability there I didn’t usually see. “So yes, I am worried about Simon. He plays things close to the chest. He doesn’t even tell me everything he’s doing. And he thinks very little for his own safety.”
Sam snorted. “What could kill Simon?”
Cayne scowled, tightening his folded arms. “You wouldn’t need to kill Simon to hurt him.” He grinned. “But it’s true, he’s one of the most powerful beings in this world. He could probably take on a ninth realm celestial.”
Sam nodded.
“You see, Cleo, celestial strength is more of an exponential increase. An eighth-realmer, though much stronger than a seventh-realmer, is thousands of times less strong than a ninth-realmer.” He frowned. “They’ve been accumulating and hoarding their own wealth for so long. And making sure their own children don’t live to help pass on and mix their power.”
“What?” I blinked, because I’d never heard that before.
“Celestials pass on their power through blood, thus if they don’t want to share it with other races, it’s best to kill offspring before it can breed.”
